Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Stechkin APS: The Soviet Machine Pistol

January 11, 2019 Ian McCollum 19

The APS is a machine pistol developed by Igor Stechkin in the late 1940s and adopted by the Soviet Union in 1951, basically at the same time as the Makarov pistol. The Stechkin and Makarov […]

H&K P8A1: The Bundeswehr’s USP

January 7, 2019 Ian McCollum 57

Thanks to my friends at Bear Arms in Scottsdale, we have an H&K P8A1 to take a look at today – the current Bundeswehr issue version of the USP. Chambered for 9x19mm and adopted in […]

Steyr 1893 Gas-Seal Trials Revolver

December 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 14

Today we are looking at a pair of Steyr 1893 trials revolvers. Only about 100 of these were made, primarily for Austro-Hungarian military trials. These two are early pattern examples, with Pieper-type gas seal systems […]

Mateba MTR-8

December 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

The MTR-8 was Emilio Ghisoni’s first revolver design, predating the more popular and better known Mateba semiauto revolvers and the Chiappa Rhino. The MTR-8 was designed for competition shooting, and made in a variety of […]

H&K VP-70M on the Range: How Useful is the Burst Fire?

December 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 72

After looking at the history and mechanics of the VP-70 yesterday, we are heading out to the range to try it out (and thanks to Trijicon for generously offering use of their range!). I am […]

H&K VP-70M: Polymer Framed Cutting Edge Machine Pistol from 1973

November 30, 2018 Ian McCollum 47

The VP-70 was designed by Heckler & Koch cofounder Alex Seidel, and introduced in 1973. It was made with the idea of being a gun easily mass produced for arming a civilian resistance in case […]

A .50 Caliber 1911: Guncrafter Industries Model 1

November 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 35

This pistol sold for $2,300 at Rock Island on November 30, 2018. Guncrafter Industries is a custom handgun company formed by one Alex Zimmerman in 2002 after many years working for Wilson Combat. Among other […]

4mm Zimmerstutzen Parlor Conversion for a Mauser 1914

November 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

This Mauser pistol and 4mm conversion kit failed to sell at Rock Island on November 30, 2018. This 4mm “Zimmerstutzen” conversion kit was patented by one Karl Weiss in 1921, and produced by the RWS […]

Colt Checks out the Spanish Wondernine: the Star 30PK

November 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 29

This pistol sold for $3,163 at Rock Island in December 2, 2018. Star entered the Wondernine era in 1978 with their Model 28 pistol, a double action 9mm offering with 15-round magazines. It was one […]

North China Type 19: The Improved Nambu Pistol

November 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

This pistol sold for $8,625 at Rock Island on December 2, 2018. The North China Type 19 pistol (not to be confused with the North China Type 19 rifle) is an improvement on the Type […]